100 "Lucky Pennies" across U.S. Worth $1,000 Each

DETROIT -- Stopping to pick up a stray penny off the ground may not seem worth the effort, yet one bank is trying to change that mindset by placing 100 fake pennies across the country worth $1,000 apiece.

Ally Bank says it is hoping to encourage Americans to look for opportunities to save through its “Lucky Penny” promotion, which launched this week. The lucky pennies carry a copper color like real pennies, but feature the Detroit-based bank’s logo instead of Abraham Lincoln’s head. The flip side of the coin lists its value at 100,000 cents.

“It’s important for everyone to understand that routinely saving, even the smallest amounts, is important to generating wealth over time,” Diane Morais, chief executive officer and president of the Ally Bank subsidiary, said in a statement.

The pennies have been placed on the ground, in the public’s view, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Miami, Denver, Detroit, San Diego, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas.

The bank said it would offer hints as to where the promotional pennies might be found on social media, with one offered on Wednesday for those living in Charlotte, North Carolina: